Stem cell research has come a long way with the modernization of traditional tools, techniques and laboratory equipment. There is also the creation of new technology to be able to make research reach new heights and achieve new findings.
Brightfield compound microscopes are one of these technologies that are being widely used in research laboratories to study a multitude of specimens. Brightfield compound microscopes have evolved significantly from its humble beginnings as a compound microscope in 1590 to the addition of the bright field that has made the microscope such an indispensable tool today. The brightfield compound microscope uses two lenses, the first being an objective lenses and the second being an ocular lens. These are mounted at opposite ends of a closed tube and provide greater magnification than the normal single lens type of microscope. The viewer looking through the ocular lens actually sees an enlarged image of up to 2000 times of the object being examined. This is why microscopes such as the brightfield compound microscopes are so essential to researchers. For stem cell studies for example, the major hurdle to get through is the identification and categorization of stem cells from cultures and tissue samples.
Together with brightfield compound microscopes, there are other tools available to make the identification of stem cells more efficient. Stem Cell Technologies present an array of reagents and antibodies for this purpose. One of their new products on the market is an antibody to identify mouse hematopoietic cells, called the endothelial protein C receptor or EPCR. For the identification of human hematopoietic stem cells, there is the Aldefluor assay. It uses aldehyde dehydrogenase substrate BAAA as a marker for the easy separation of human stem cells. The work of researchers with human stem cells continue to gain importance as there is a demand for clinicians to want to know how stem cells, which are often difficult to attain and come in minute amounts, can be expanded in culture for positive uses.
Isolation techniques pose a meticulous challenge as well. Stem cells are isolated once they are identified, and since these occur rarely, the task is labor intensive. Similar immunological techniques can be used to isolate stem cells are they are used to identify them. A popular method for separation is the magnetic separation method. Systems that include antibodies make use of antibodies for T cells and a varied selection of surface antigens like CD4. Once the samples have undergone the imaging system, these can be categorized further through a flow cytometry.
Stem cells, under microscopic scrutiny, very closely resemble progenitor cells and differentiated adult cells, so this is why they are quite complicated to identify and isolate. Researchers are now focusing on how to work with stem cells in vitro, and they hope that the findings will further improve the challenges of identifying and isolating them for both experimental and clinical intentions. For the moment, the use of monoclonal antibodies and stem cell technologies are being used within the research and laboratory premises.Read more on this subject